Difficult

Issues
Taken from Today’s Headlines

O N S
S T I Y!
Q UE ANIT
BIG R HUM
FO

Bible Answers to
Issues Confronting
Christians & the Church
Difficult Issues
Taken from Today’s Headlines

Developed by Matt Hennecke

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 CONTENTS

Girl Wounded in Paducah Likely to Remain Paraplegic 4

Elders & Church Sued by Wayward Member 5

Courson Seeks Higher Disability Payments 6

The Movie Titanic: A Review 7

Karla Faye Tucker Faces Death Penalty 8

For Suicide Send a Card 9

Big Questions for Humanity 10

Discord Not a Top Indictor for Divorce 11

In the Nation: Choosing Sides 12

Proposed Adoption Change Angers Gay Parents 13

Compassion or Cheating – Which Is It? 14

Marilyn Manson’s New Album Antichrist Superstar Reviewed 15

Doctors Astonished at Septuplets’ Health 16

Near Death: Essence of the Argument 17

Lawsuit Resolved, Abortion Pill on Track 18

Anti-Cyberporn Law Challenged 19

Issues & Answers – 3

DIFFICULT ISSUE

Questions & Answers

Issues & Answers – 4

 Source: Who is My Brother? F. LaGard Smith, 1997
DIFFICULT ISSUE Cotswold Publishing, Malibu, CA., pages 179-182

Elders & Church Sued by Wayward Member

In article after article in 1984, newspaper articles
all across America gave unprecedented publicity to the
“Church of Christ.” You may remember what the
tabloid headlines were all about. Marian Guinn, a
36-year-old registered nurse and divorced mother
of four, had filed a lawsuit in 1981 against the
elders of the Collinsville (Oklahoma) Church of
Christ, alleging invasion of privacy and the
intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit arose when the elders read a letter
to the congregation, citing Guinn for the “sin
of fornication” and calling for the members
to withdraw their fellowship from her.
From the moment she had walked
through the door, Guinn had been extended
the warmest of receptions by the congregation,
who eagerly looked after her needs and the
needs of her children during a particularly difficult time
in her life.
However, it all turned sour when the elders were
told that Guinn was illicitly involved with a former
mayor of Collinsville. Confronted by the elders,
Guinn admitted that she and the man were
involved sexually. Over a year went by and
it was evident that the relationship had not
ended. After a second warning, the elders
informed Guinn that disciplinary action
would be required if she did not publicly
repent. Less than two weeks later, the elders
read to the church the letter that eventually
landed them in court.
The jury...rendered a predictably secular
verdict against the church and its elders, awarding
actual and punitive damages in the amount of
$390,000.
Newsweek quoted Marian Guinn as saying,
“What I do is between God and myself. I don’t need the
church to work as a medium for me. It was none of their
business.”

Questions & Answers

1.Was Marian Guinn right or wrong to go to court over this issue? Does the Bible speak about
Christians taking each other to court? If so, where is the passage?

2. Define “fornication” and “adultery.” What does the Bible have to say about these sins? Provide
one pertinent New Testament passage for each.

3. What are the specific steps (mentioned in Matthew) to be taken when one learns of a brother or
sister who is sinning? Provide the passage and list the steps.

4. Is it the elders’ and local congregation’s business to discipline erring Christians? If you were one
of the elders and you knew you would be sued, would you do it anyway? What passage in Acts 5
would support your answer?

5. Where is the scripture(s) that tell us to “withdraw” from an erring brother or sister? Why does it
tell us to withdraw? In other words, what is the intent or purpose of withdrawal?

Issues & Answers – 5

 DIFFICULT ISSUE Source: USA Today, December 29, 1997, Online.
By Larry Weisman

Courson seeks higher disability payments

PITTSBURGH - Steve Courson can see the fingers
wagging in his face, hear the old arguments again.
Nobody forced him to take steroids. Nobody forced
him into alcohol abuse. Nobody made him do
these things. So why should someone pay?
Courson, 42, played offensive line for
Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay from 1977-85,
ultimately wrecking his health through
the use of anabolic steroids and
alcohol. Now he’s asking a federal
court in Pittsburgh to raise his NFL
disability payment of $21,000 a
year and recognize his abuses and
weakened heart as football-related.
“The thing that rags me is that here
I was profiled as one of the strongest
players in the NFL, and they had to know I was using
those drugs and that those drugs were one of the
reasons I was one of the strongest players,” Courson
says. “Then, when I got sick, they used me as the poster
Questions & Answers
child for their punitive tests. And then when I try to get
benefits, they say it’s not football-related.”
The NFL retirement plan, administered by
the league and the NFL Players
Association, handles these disburse-
ments. Courson’s current disability
status is the lowest of the four
categories. It says he became
disabled after playing and not as a
result of football. Courson’s lawyer,
P.J. Murray, says the NFL didn’t
followed its own policies against use
of steroids and failed his client by not
providing proper medical treatment for
substance-abuse problems. Courson’s result-
ant heart condition, he says, “is football-related and he
should be getting benefits at one of the highest levels.”
The retirement board disagreed, rejecting
Courson’s petition for reclassification and vetoing an
appeal Aug. 11. “In my judgment, the retirement board
has acted appropriately and within its authority and
within the law with respect to Steve Courson,” says
Doug Allen, NFLPA assistant executive director.

1.What does the term “responsible” mean? Who was responsible for Adam & Eve’s fall? Did they try to blame
someone else? If so, who (give verses)? Provide one other biblical example of a person who tried to blame
someone else for his/her sin.

2. Who is responsible for Steve Courson’s physical problems? Did he know what he was doing?

3. What is the Greek word for “witchcraft” or “sorcery” used in Galatians 5:19-20? (You will need to look this up in
Vine’s or some other English/Greek resource.) What English word does it look like? What does it mean? What can
we conclude from this passage?

4. What, if anything, does the Bible say about how we should treat our physical bodies? Provide at least 1 scripture
from the New Testament. What does the word “vice” mean?

5. What “body damaging” drugs do people use today? Is the use of such drugs sinful? Complete the chart below,
listing the types of drugs you believe fall under each category:
Illegal, Sinful Drugs Legal, Sinful Drugs Legal, Not Sinful Drugs

Issues & Answers – 6

 DIFFICULT ISSUE Source: Screen It, Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Available on the Internet: http://www.screenit.com

The Movie Titanic: A Review

Of any real life event that seems perfect for dramatizing,
the sinking of the luxury cruiser H.M.S. Titanic in
1912 certainly rates among the best.
There’s the tragic and still not com-
pletely resolved sequence of errors that
led to the impact with the iceberg, and
the delay of nearby ships to come to the
rescue. The arrogance of the builders, and
society in general, to proclaim the ship
unsinkable – and thus not have enough
lifeboats for everyone on board – is also a
good dramatic element. Finally, there’s the
sinking of the ship itself. Taking several hours to finally
disappear under the icy cold North Atlantic waters –
where fifteen hundred people perished – you can’t
Questions & Answers
match that for a tragic ending, especially considering
this was her maiden voyage. Being a film about a
sinking ship, there are obviously many tense
and suspenseful moments that may be too
intense for younger viewers. There are two
scenes with sexually related material – one
that’s more sensual with bare breasts, the
other is where Rose and Jack have sex.
Apart from the ship sinking and people
dying, there is some human generated
violence and even more bad attitudes
of the rich toward the poor. Since
many teens will probably want to see this film, we
suggest that you examine the content to determine how
appropriate it is for them, you, or other members of
your family.
Titanic is rated PG-13.

1. Should Christians go to movies or watch TV? Why or why not? What famous OT character was enticed
by a woman’s nudity? Who was at fault, the man or the woman? Why?

2. Given the review of Titanic above, is this a movie that Christians should go to see? Why or why not? Find
at least 3 Bible verses that would give us some guidance on whether we should or should not see it.

3. When viewing a movie or watching TV, what should be a Christian’s response if something comes on
that is not fit to see?

4. What do the following movie ratings mean (G, PG, PG-13, R, X)? Which of these types of movies would
it be okay for a Christian to watch? What verse in Psalm 101 would apply?

5. Would you want your children to see the movie Titanic after having read the review? ❐ yes ❐ no
List 3 guidelines you would give your children about watching any movie or TV show:
Guideline #1: ______________________________________________________________
Guideline #2: ______________________________________________________________
Guideline #3: ______________________________________________________________
Issues & Answers – 7
 DIFFICULT ISSUE Source: USA TODAY Online, Opinion – 01/30/98

Karla Faye Tucker Faces Death Penalty

It looks like curtains for Karla Faye Tucker, sen-
tenced to die for the 1983 pickax murders of an ex-
boyfriend (she wanted to steal his Harley) and a woman
who witnessed the crime. Tucker admits to the killings,
so there’s no doubt of guilt. And the crime was indisput-
ably hideous.
Worse for her, Tucker did the crime in Texas, a
state in which the Board of Pardons and
Paroles hasn’t recom-
mended a commutation
in 10 years and where,
in 1997, not one of the Board’s 18 members cast even a
single vote for clemency in 16 appeals. Govenor George
Bush has permitted 59 straight executions. Texas, with
421 men and seven women on death row, has executed
Questions & Answers
a league-leading 144 since 1976.
Despite the evident long odds, Pat Robertson, the
conservative evangelist and death-penalty supporter, is
actively lobbying for Tucker’s reprieve. He says she is
“not the same woman”
who committed the
crime. That she has
experienced an “authentic”
conversion to Christianity.
If Tucker is saved, it will probably have less to do
with her faith than with the way her sex disturbs
society’s complacent attitude about capital punishment.
It’s no coincidence that although women account for
13% of all murder arrests, they account for only 2% of
all death sentences that are imposed, 1.5% of all people
on death row, and only 0.2% of those actually executed
since 1976. It’s easier to execute men.

1. Are you for or against capital punishment? List arguments for and against below:
Capital Punishment is Right Because Capital Punishment is Wrong Because
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
2. Is capital punishment authorized by God or not? Find at least 3 verses to support your position.

3. What does the word “clemency” mean? Should clemency be shown to Karla Faye Tucker? Why or why
not?

4. Why do you think woman are less likely to be executed than men for capital crimes? What does the Bible
have to say about showing partiality? (Find at least 2 verses)

5. What would you do if you had to sit on a jury in a capital murder case? Could you sentence someone to
the death penalty?

Issues & Answers – 8

 Source: World Magazine, Volume 13, Number 5,
DIFFICULT ISSUE February 7, 1998, page 25.

For Suicide Send a Card

Whether because of an upsurge of despair or company spokesman Rachel Bolton, to celebrate all
because they see physician-assisted suicide as a grow- experiences, beautiful and painful. “There was a
ing trend, Hallmark Cards has decided there is a resounding response for this kind of card,” she
market for suicide cards. said, “cards that deal with death and dying and
Starting in April, Hallmark will feature spirituality.”
a sympathy card designed to console a During This “When someone we love flees from
person whose loved one killed himself. The life, it is so hard to understand,” reads the
Difficu text. “But our compassionate Creator sees
card is the first in a possible line, which will
be identified in the rack—along with the Time clearly into what is beyond our under-
birthday, anniversary, and get-well catego- standing and already has welcomed your
ries—with a tab labeled “suicide.” loved one home.”
Hallmark test-marketed the card in six While Christians have traditionally
cities, where it met overwhelming success. agonized over the eternal destiny of a
Families of those who had taken their own We Care suicide, Hallmark, reflecting the therapeu-
lives reportedly appreciated them, while it tic model of religion, describes suicide as a
helped solve the problem of friends not means of salvation. The attempt to link
knowing what to say. death, dying, and suicide with a sentimen-
The line is to be part of the greeting-card giant’s tal New Age “spirituality” threatens to make what is
“Lifesong Collection,” which is designed, according to horrible seem nice, socially acceptable, and more
common.
Questions & Answers
1. Find at least one example of someone committing suicide in the OT, and one example from the NT.
Then describe the character of the person who committed suicide (i.e., was he “good” or “bad”?)

2. Find two Bible passages that instruct a Christian to comfort someone who has suffered loss.

3. Is suicide wrong? Provide at least 2 Bible passages to support your answer (look up 1 Cor. 3:16-17 and
be ready to explain why this passage CANNOT be used to show why suicide is wrong).

4. Is it true, as Hallmark suggests, that the Creator will “welcome home” someone who has commited
suicide? Be ready to explain your answer.

5. Look up each of the following passages and explain how each might relate to the question of whether
suicide is acceptable in God’s sight:
Heb. 10:36-39 Job 2:9-10
Rev. 2:10 Jonah 4:8
1 Pet. 2:23 Phil 1:21-25

6. Did Samson commit suicide? (See Judges 16:29-30)

Issues & Answers – 9

 Source: USA Today, September 4, 1997, Online.
DIFFICULT ISSUE Updated 12:24 PM ET

Big questions for humanity

The cloning of a Scottish sheep raises profound
moral and ethical issues for a higher species – cutting
to the heart of what it means to be human
and to the consequences of creating genetic
copies.
“That’s the ultimate issue: How would
these clones be treated? As a human being, or
as a means to someone else’s end?” says lawyer
and bioethicist George Annas, chairman of
Boston University’s health law department.
Bioethicists say human cloning has long
been viewed as the final barrier which repro-
ductive technology would not cross. Although
major hurdles exist, the sheep cloning has raised
the prospect of a similar procedure for humans.
That means society must now grapple with the
religious, ethical and psychological implications.
“If this is being done to animals, this is going
to be done to human beings sooner than we think,” says
theologian and bioethicist Nigel Cameron, provost of
Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill.
“It would be perhaps the worst thing we have ever
thought of in the maltreatment of our species,”
Cameron says. “It would be a kind of new slave
class. . . You would have human beings who
were made by other human beings for their
purposes.”
Some experts see circumstances under
which human cloning could be justified: to
replace a dead child, or to help save a
brother or sister dying of an incurable
disease through organ or marrow trans-
plant. But most say it remains an unthink-
able option for an individual who simply
wants to see himself reflected in another
being.
“It can’t be done today, but it will be
able to be done in the future,” Annas says. “And
there’s probably no way to prevent it from happening,
somewhere in the world.”

By Deborah Sharp and Lori Sharn, USA TODAY

Questions & Answers
1. Before reading what God might reveal in His word about “creating” humans through cloning proce-
dures, what do you think about it? Would it be right or wrong? Make two lists below:
Some Might Think Human Cloning Good Because Some Might Think Human Cloning Bad Because
1. _________________________________ 1. _________________________________
2. _________________________________ 2. _________________________________
3. _________________________________ 3. _________________________________
4. _________________________________ 4. _________________________________

2. Are there any biblical passages that would help us to know whether God would approve or disapprove of
human cloning? If so, what are they? try to find at least 2 and list them below:

3. Do you believe it will be possible to clone a human, and if so, would the clone have a soul and be subject
to the laws of God?

4. Consider the following passages. Do they provide any insight about the issue of human cloning?
• Gen 1:27; 2:7 • Acts 17:25
• Job 33:4 • 1 Cor. 15:45
• Psa 139:14
Issues & Answers – 10
 Source: USA Today, February 18, 1998, Online.
DIFFICULT ISSUE Updated 10:27 PM ET

Discord not a top indicator for divorce

Only about one-third of divorces occur in marriages
with high levels of conflict, say two sociologists who
have conducted a 15-year, intergenerational study.
They speculate that the remaining two-thirds
happen in marriages that could be preserved.
Their study will add fuel to the national
debate on the effects of divorce on chil-
dren. The researchers find that, while
children often benefit from divorce when
their parents are constantly quarrel-
some, they do not from the majority of
divorces where parents get along fairly
well.
In these low-conflict marriages, “par-
ents do not hate each other,” says study co-
author Paul R. Amato, University of Nebraska,
Lincoln. “Many are bored, and their marriages
could be salvaged.”
The researchers found that after divorces in low-
conflict marriages, the children grow into adults who
tend to have increased psychological distress, reduced
happiness, fewer ties with kin and friends, and reduced
marital quality.
Questions & Answers
1. What does God think of divorce? Find at least one passage that expresses God’s reaction to divorce.
Only 23% of parents who divorced during the study
said they disagreed with spouses often or very often;
30% reported more than two serious quarrels in a
month; 28% said there was physical abuse, says
researcher Alan Booth, Pennsylvania State
University.
Amato stresses that “a substantial
number of divorces are in the best
interest of children.” Many studies show
they benefit if conflict is chronic. This
newest research, reported in the book A
Generation at Risk: Growing Up in an Era
of Family Upheaval, shows “marital
unhappiness and discord have a broad
negative impact on virtually every dimen-
sion of offspring well-being.”
Stephanie Coontz, a family historian at Ever-
green State College in Olympia, Wash., and author of
The Way We Really Are, applauds the study’s methodol-
ogy. But she cautions that “to use this in a campaign to
convince people to stay together would be to wield a
very blunt instrument. We don’t want to push people to
stay in relationships that in the long run are problem-
atic.”
By Karen S. Peterson, USA TODAY

2. Does God allow or authorize divorce? If so, for what reason(s)? Find at least two passages to support
your answer. Is boredom justification for divorce? How about physical abuse?

3. What percentage of marriages in the U.S. do you think end in divorce?

❐ 10% ❐ 25% ❐ 50% ❐ 75%

4. Do you agree with Paul Amato’s statement that “a substantial number of divorces are in the best interest
of children”? Why or why not?

5. What does the Bible say about the husband’s responsibility to his wife, and the wife’s responsibility to
her husband? List the responsibilities of each below:
Husband’s Responsibilities Wife’s Responsibilities
1. ______________ 3. ______________ 1. ______________ 3. ______________
2. ______________ 4. ______________ 2. ______________ 4. ______________
6. To what does Paul compare a husband and wife in Ephesians 5:23? What does this say about the devo-
tion, care, and love that should exist between husbands and wives?

Issues & Answers – 11

 Source: WORLD Magazine, December 20, 1997,
DIFFICULT ISSUE Volume 12, Number 31, page 9.

In the Nation: Choosing Sides

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled unani-
mously on Tuesday that a divorced father who became a
Christian cannot share his newfound beliefs
with his children if it alienates them from
their Orthodox Jewish mother. A
court-appointed guardian found that
two of Jeffrey Kendall’s three children
were suffering “stress” because he was
exposing them to Christian teaching
while their mother, who gained custody
after a 1994 divorce, wanted to raise them in the
Jewish faith. The court agreed, ruling that Mr. Kendall
cannot take the children to church where they would be
told that non-Christians are “destined to burn in hell,”
in the words of Judge Neil Lynch, who wrote
the decision. Mr. Kendall’s lawyer de-
nounced the ruling, noting that the
court had essentially chosen the
mother’s religion over the father’s.
“The court effectively has established a
religion for these three children,” said
Michael Greco. “That’s the court intruding
where it shouldn’t be intruding.

Questions & Answers

1. Are we instructed in the Bible to obey the governing authorities? ❐ Yes ❐ No
Find a verse to support your answer.

2. Has the Court overstepped its authority in making the ruling described above? ❐ Yes ❐ No
Find 1-2 verses that tell us the source of a government’s authority.

3. Should Mr. Kendall obey the Court order? ❐ Yes ❐ No Find passages to support your answer.

4. Is it true that learning of Christ might cause “stress” amongst the Kendall children? ❐ Yes ❐ No
Should the children be taught of Christ regardless? Find passages that instruct parents to rear their
children in the Lord. Who has the responsibility of spiritual teaching?

5. A similar “stressful” problem may arise if a non-Christian marries a Christian. Does the Bible have
anything to say about marrying someone who is not a Christian? Find verses to support your answer.

6. Is it true that non-Christians are “destined to burn in hell”? Find verses to support your answer.

Issues & Answers – 12

 Source: CNN Interactive, U.S. News Story Page,
DIFFICULT ISSUE October 2, 1996 Web posted at: 6:15 a.m. EDT

Proposed adoption change angers gay parents

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) – Lesbian and gay activists
are up in arms about a proposal by California Gov.
Pete Wilson to restrict adoption by couples to
those who are legally married.
Politically active gay-rights supporters like
Kate Kendell say the proposed change to
California’s adoption regulations are nothing
short of an attack on the concept of homo-
sexual marriage.
“These regulations will not effect in any way the
ability of single people, regardless of their sexual
orientation, to adopt,” said Kendell. “It will only affect
the ability of committed lesbian and gay couples to
adopt.”
Wilson’s initiative appears to be an indirect attempt
to join the ranks of Florida and New Hampshire,
which specifically outlaw homosexual adoptions.
“The governor believes it’s in the best interests of
the child to have a mother and a father in the
household,” a spokesman told CNN.
An estimated 17,000 children wait in California
foster homes for adoption. Agencies working to place
Questions & Answers
1. What does the Bible have to say about homosexuality? Is it approved or disapproved by God? Find at
least 3 verses to support your answer.
the youngsters say the proposed rule change could
make it tougher to find adoptive parents.
“This regulation would really drastically reduce the
pool,” said Harriet Finck of the agency Adopt a
Special Kid. “Over the last two years, of the
children that AASK has placed in homes, I’d
say 50 percent were single parents or couples
unmarried.”
Thana Christian is one person who might not
have qualified as an adoptive parent under
California's proposed change. She is single and
a lesbian.
But after spending $35,000 over four years
trying to become a mother – first through
artificial insemination, then adoption – she
brought home a 10-month-old girl, Patty, in
July.
“It’s wonderful. She needed ,me as
much as I needed her,” Christian said. ‘And
the birth parents needed me as much as I
needed them. It’s wonderful, even better than
I imagined.”
– From Correspondent Don Knapp

2. How should a Christian treat a homosexual? In other words, what should be our response if we were to
learn that a friend was a homosexual? Consider James 2 in this light.

3. Should a homosexual be allowed to adopt children? Why or why not?

4. Are homosexual marriages approved or disapproved by God? Indicate verses to support your answer.

5. There are 17,000 children awaiting adoption, should this cause the state to reconsider the proposal, or
should the standards for adoption be tightened to exclude homosexuals? Why?

6. Do you think Patty (the little girl adopted by the lesbian woman) will be brought “up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord?” ( Eph. 6:4)? For whom is Patty’s adoption “wonderful”? Her or her mother?

Issues & Answers – 13

 Source: World Magazine, “Risks and asterisks,” by
DIFFICULT ISSUE Joel Belz, March 21, 1998, Vol. 13, No. 11, page 5.

Compassion or Cheating – Which Is It?

In February, Nykesha Sales had been closing in on the
all-time scoring record in women’s basketball at
the University of Connecticut. Then,
when she was just a single point away
from that record, personal disaster
struck. Miss Sales ruptured her
Achilles’ tendon. She was a senior,
and the season was about to end
while she was sidelined with her leg in
a cast.
Geno Auriemma, Nykesha’s sympathetic coach,
Questions & Answers
1. What does the Bible have to say about showing compassion to others? Find at least 2 verses.
however, had a better idea. For the season’s final game,
he arranged with both the opposing coach and the
conference officials to start with a unique
pair of plays. First, the ball would be
inbounded to Miss Sales, standing in
her leg cast just beneath the basket;
she would be permitted an uncon-
tested layup. Then, the other team
would be allowed an uncontested layup.
Finally, with the score tied at 2-2, the regular
game would proceed, and Miss Sales would be in the
record book.

2. What does the Bible have to say about honesty or fair play? Again, provide at least 2 verses.

3. What possible lessons did this incident teach Miss Sales? Her team? The opposing team? The previous
record holder? The fans? List all the possible lessons (good or bad) that this act may have taught.

4. Do you approve or disapprove of what the coach did? Support your answer with scripture.

5. Are there things that may appear “good,” but are actually bad”? Try to think of a couple of examples.
A. ______________________________________________________________
B. ______________________________________________________________

Issues & Answers – 14

 DIFFICULT ISSUE Source: Screen It, Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Available on the Internet: http://www.screenit.com

Marilyn Manson’s New Album Antichrist Superstar Reviewed

From the first song, “Irresponsible Hate Anthem” to
the last, “Man That You Fear,” the album, Antichrist
Superstar, never lets up on the hard-driven guitar and
rip roaring vocals that encase the anger and
hate found in between each and every song.
The demonic delivery of lead vocalist,
Marilyn Manson, captures the essence
of a new generation with no direction.
The themes of isolation, death, hate,
and violence add to the scare appeal.
Teenagers could find this fascinating
about a new group that shocks its
audience with taboo subjects that
their parents might not discuss with
them. The heavy influence of loud
guitar feedback and the high-pitched
screaming nearly puts the listener into a
repetitive “head banging” trance. It’s shock-
rock at its best. With nothing to offer but eerie imagery
and a bad case of terminal feedback.
Antichrist Superstar contains profanity and deals
with topics that could offend listeners who are sensitive
to issues such as violence, religion, and death. It
promotes a feeling of hatred and anger toward anything
dealing with the status quo, and contains morbid
content and disturbing lyrics meant to shock the
listener. This band has reached a cult follow-
ing that has influenced the way people
look and behave. It harkens back to the
days where Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Ozzy
Osbourne influenced the way their
fans dressed and acted. Children
could be attracted to the escapism
that this album offers. Curiously
enough, there are actually 99 tracks on
this release, even though the credits
list 16. Tracks 17 through 98 are 3
seconds long with no audio. However,
track 99 has over a minute and a half of
monstrous gibberish. It sounds like the audio
was recorded backwards, encoding some cryptic
message. However, when listened to backwards there
was no distinguishable spoken audio or message.

Questions & Answers

1. Are people influenced by the music they listen to or sing? Are godly people influenced by the
singing of hymns and spiritual songs? Provide some NT Bible passages to support your answer.

2. Where is the biblical account of prisoners hearing the singing of praises to God? Do you think
the prisoners were influenced by the singing? Who else was influenced by the singing?

3. Given the nature of the album review above, would you purchase or allow your children to
purchase or listen to this album or this artist? Why or why not?

4. In the above review we are told that Marilyn Manson shocks the audience with “taboo” subjects.
What does this word mean? What does Ephesians 5:11-12 have to say about taboo subjects?

Issues & Answers – 15

 DIFFICULT ISSUE Source: USA Today, November 20, 1997, Online.

Doctors astonished at septuplets’ health

DES MOINES, Iowa
The seven little McCaugheys were reported doing
well Thursday morning -astonishing doctors who say
the day-old septuplets' size and condition is
"virtually unheard-of." The babies born
Wednesday to Bobbi and Kenny
McCaughey - four boys and three girls -
are only the second set of septuplets
ever born alive and if they live,
would be the first ever to
survive.
The babies' deeply reli-
gious family - who had rejected
suggestions to abort some of the fetuses to give
the others a better chance (fetal reduction) - rejoiced.
Once news began trickling out, the 29-year-old
seamstress and her 27-year-old husband, a billing
clerk at an auto dealer, found themselves the center of
worldwide attention.
The birth of septuplets is rare
and serious complications are
common. The only other known set
were born alive in September in
Saudi Arabia. Six of them died,
according to hospital officials there. The
last set of septuplets in the United States
was born in May 1985 in Orange,
Calif., to Samuel and Patricia
Frustaci. Born in her 28th week
of pregnancy, one was stillborn,
three died within 19 days of birth and
the remaining three had medical and developmental
problems.
By The Associated Press

Questions & Answers

1.When it became known that the McCaugheys were going to have multiple children, many people
suggested they should submit to “fetal reduction.” What is “fetal reduction”?

2. What passages in the Bible would you turn to defend or refute the practice of “fetal reduction”?

3. When does a child become a child? What does the term “abortion” mean?

4. Did the McCaugheys make the right decision in refusing to abort any of the babies?

5. Is abortion ever right? If so when? If not, why not? Provide biblical passages to support your
answer.

Issues & Answers – 16

 DIFFICULT ISSUE Source: USA Today, September 9, 1997, Online.

Near death: Essence of the argument

PINELLAS PARK, Fla.
Entangled in a web of medical tubes, the lives of
Rosemary Zeidler and Lynn Bessinger are slowly
coming to a close. Both women reside at
Woodside hospice center. Both are in their early 70s.
And both have incurable breast cancer. Yet these two
women are far apart on the question of whether
terminally ill patients should have the right to a
doctor’s help in ending their lives.
Zeidler, who says she can still hear the screams of
her mother-in-law, who died of cancer 17 years ago,
wants the option of asking a doctor to help her die if
her pain becomes intolerable. Bessinger is frightened
by the prospect of widespread legalization and what it
could mean to society. “It’s not up to us to make
up our minds when we’re going to die,” she says.
“It’s up to God.”
Their views in many ways capture the essence of
two cases being argued before the Supreme Court
Wednesday over the constitutionality of doctor-
assisted suicide. The court’s decision, expected
before the end of the term this summer, could
be the most divisive since the landmark Roe vs.
Wade abortion ruling of 1973. If the court finds
that patients have a right to a doctor’s help in
ending their lives, the ruling would mark sweep-
ing change in the nation’s laws, medical practice
and ethics.
“It would be saying that suicide now becomes
morally and socially acceptable as a relatively
routine way of dealing with the problems of pain and
suffering,” says Daniel Callahan, co-founder of
the Hastings Center in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.
The center studies ethical problems in medicine,
biology and the environment.

Questions & Answers

1.With whom do you agree – Zeidler or Bessinger? Why?

2. What does the term “euthanasia” mean?

3. What Bible passages would you use to refute or defend the practice of euthanasia? List them
below:

4. What is the name of the medical doctor known to many as “Doctor Death”?

5. Should all possible means be used to keep a person alive (feeding tubes, specialized equipment,
etc.) or should a person be allowed to die with dignity?

Issues & Answers – 17

 Source: 09/09/97- Updated 05:33 PM ET USA
DIFFICULT ISSUE TODAY Online.

Lawsuit Resolved, Abortion Pill on Track

A legal dispute that threatened to delay U.S. Now, a new company, Advances for Choice, has
introduction of the abortion pill RU-486 has been been formed to market the drug. The council
resolved, the drug’s backers announced Wednesday. shepherded the drug through the FDA process and, in
If the Food and Drug Administration September, learned the agency had found it safe
approves the drug, as is widely expected, it and effective for ending early pregnancies. But the
should be available before the end of 1997, the FDA asked for more information on labeling and
backers say. manufacturing before approval. That informa-
“We’re going to move ahead,” says Marga- tion should ready by June, says Jack Van Hulst,
ret Catley-Carlson, president of the Population chief executive of the new company.
Council, New York. Abortion opponents are unsympa-
The council, a nonprofit research group RU-486 thetic about the venture’s woes. “The whole
that holds U.S. rights to the drug, has settled a problem reflected the fact that there is big
lawsuit with Joseph D. Pike, a San Diego money here,” says Wanda Franz of the National
lawyer it had chosen to handle fund-raising, Right to Life Committee. “This is not about
manufacturing and distribution. choice or women’s health or compassion or any
The council demanded Pike sell control- of that. Under that nice sales pitch, there’s a
ling interest in the for-profit project - which he seamy side.”
has now done - after learning he was disbarred and pled Abortion rights supporters say the drug will be
guilty to forgery in a North Carolina real estate case. preferred over surgery by many women and will make
The cloud over Pike would undermine the venture, the procedure more accessible and private.
the council argued in its suit.
By Kim Painter, USA TODAY
Questions & Answers
1.Should the introduction of RU-486 be delayed? Why or why not.

2. Should a woman have the right to “choose” to end a pregnancy?

3. What Bible passages would you use to show that abortion is wrong? (Consider Exo 21:22-23;
Psa. 139:14; Luke 1:44)

4. Is a woman who has an abortion displaying the “natural affection” mentioned in Romans 1:31
and 2 Timothy 3:3?

5. Does God give people a choice to do good or evil? When it comes to having or not having chil-
dren, when should a woman exercise her freedom to choose?

Issues & Answers – 18

 DIFFICULT ISSUE Source: USA TODAY Online.

Anti-cyberporn law challenged

PHILADELPHIA - The government’s ban on sending “It’s not an exaggeration to say that many of these
“indecent” and sexually explicit material to minors over indecent images are available on a computer by ... a
computer networks was challenged in court the mo- click of a mouse,” said Coppolino.
ment President Clinton signed it into law Christopher Hansen, the national
Thursday. ACLU senior staff
The law defines indecency as “any counsel noted that parents already can
comment, request, suggestion, proposal, limit their children’s access to adult
INDECENT
image or other communication that, in MATERIAL material by using safeguards on computer
context, depicts or describes, in terms services or by buying inexpensive software
patently offensive as measured by that limits the Internet sites children
contemporary community standards....” may reach.
Supporters say the law will protect Senator Jim Exon, D-Neb., who
children from pornography. Those sponsored the wide-ranging Telecom-
who oppose the law say that the ban munications Reform Act of 1996,
limits constitutionally protected expressed confidence in the
freedom of speech. anti-porn provisions.
U.S. Attorney Anthony J. Coppolino said “The ACLU continues to raise
restrictions are necessary because computers have red herrings that have nothing to do
become increasingly pervasive and bring pornography with our proposal,” he said.
right into people’s homes. The ACLU-led coalition argued that on-line speech
is protected under the First Amendment.

Questions & Answers

1.Is it sinful to view pornographic materials? Why or why not? What Bible passages would help to
answer this question?

2. What is lust? Is lust bad? See James 1:15.

3. If one looks “upon a woman to lust after her,” (Matt. 5:28) has he committed adultery for which
divorce would be an option?

4. Should the government step in and eliminate pornography from the internet? Why or why not?

5. What strategies would you suggest for preventing nudity, pornography, etc. from jeopardizing
your soul?

Issues & Answers – 19